How Jackie Noel Provides the Colliers Difference

By | 02.04.16

Jackie Noel’s client lost his mother and inherited a multifamily apartment building in Richmond, Virginia. He lived in California. His estate attorney referred him to Colliers and Jackie won the appointment based on her multifamily market expertise. She was able to secure a buyer for the full asking price contingent upon the due diligence stage. During due diligence, the buyer obtained the certificate of occupancy from the City of Richmond and to everyone’s surprise, the building was only zoned for four apartments, not the existing seven apartments being leased.

It turns out that when the property was first developed in 1965, it was located in County of Henrico. Around the same time, the City of Richmond annexed the property and amid the confusion. A certificate of occupancy was never given and the City zoning department assumed it was a four-unit building while the City assessor’s office knew the building had seven units.

The incorrect zoning jeopardized the sale and Jackie immediately went into action, contacting the best zoning attorney in town to handle the case. With a 48-hour deadline, she had to find an architect to draft “as built” drawings and have a survey done of the property to submit to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Within 30 hours the drawings were completed along with a survey to the City of Richmond. Once the zoning request was submitted, Jackie had to meet with the neighborhood associations in and around the property. After numerous meetings with several neighborhood associations and the City of Richmond, the property was successfully rezoned.

Jackie saw an opportunity to help her client and was able to facilitate the rezoning and close on the sale within three months!